Is the President a discourteous manipulator?

" The President knows time is on his side. So long as he could manipulate the issues and procrastinate the processes he expects the outcry on accountability issues will eventually die down."

by Rajasingham Jayadevan

(April 03, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) ‘U.S. Embassy cables accessed by The Hindu through WikiLeaks reveal that Sri Lanka was excited about the proposal of concerted international action started in the first half of 2006 to curb the fund-raising and weapons procurement by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and wanted to bring India on board to operationalise the contact groups. The Americans believed that India “was on the same page” as them on what to do about the stalled peace process — “getting the President [Mahinda Rajapaksa] to fill in the details of a political solution to deflate LTTE claims that the GOSL [Government of Sri Lanka] was ignoring Tamil aspirations — and working to cut off LTTE access to weapons and money.’ (The Hindu April 1.2011).

APRSL to lure the contact group effort

This international contact group effort coincided with the appointment of the APRC. In June 2006, the All Party Representative Committee was established, under the chairmanship of the Minister Tissa Vitharana, leader of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party. Its mandate was to reach consensus on a package of measures to guarantee the rights of Tamils.

Formation of the contact group and President Mahinda Rajapakse establishing the APRC at the same time had relevance and part of the drive against the Tigers by the contact group. In order to sooth the evolving international mechanism against the LTTE, Mahinda Rajapakse played his card well by appointing the APRC, which was appetising for both India, America and also others in the contact group members.

In order to maintain the international momentum against the LTTE, the APRC had even submitted an interim report in 2007 and amongst other things has called for the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution related to the devolution of power to the provinces. This was done is a mad rush, as the international pressure was mounting on President Mahinda Rajapakse to put forward his proposals for a political resolution to the conflict. The interim report of the APRC eased the international pressure on Sri Lanka, but the report remained a piece of paper without being fully implemented.

The President went on to hold the Eastern Provincial Council election in May 2008 to prove to the world he is serious about implementing the 13th amendment to the constitution in the liberated eastern province. Following this the pressure from the international community was reduced substantial and this paved the way for the President to extend his war agenda ruthlessly.

When the military offensive in the North reached the decisive phase in the early 2009, there was lot of international pressure on the Government to initiate a peaceful political process involving the ethnic Tamils for a long lasting peace. Unfortunately, as the time passed, the situation became very bleak for any peace effort or a political process to the conflict. The President went ahead with his final military push ruthlessly ignoring all the international pressures with the backing of few Asian powers.

Even the international pressure on the surrender of white flag carrying LTTE men was ignored and a cold blooded war was executed with sheer force within a barricaded area of Vanni preventing any witness account on the scale of the war.

The Head of the APRC Prof Tissa Vitharane too went public by confirming his proposals will be submitted only after the defeat of the LTTE. This was clear message that APRC process will be on hold to be considered at a later date. With the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009, the APRC process faced natural death and its report presented to the President postwar, remains dormant without even media access. No one, including Prof Tissa Vitharane talks about it since the defeat of the LTTE.

LLRC established to outsmart UN effort on war crimes charges

The very same method of dealing on the contact group effort is being followed on the post war accountability issues raised by the international community.

The final stage of the war was unbelievably brutal and international pressure started to mount on Sri Lanka on accountability issues. Having ambushed the contact group effort with the APRSL, the President and his men became confident they can play the same old game on the accountability issues raised by the international community. The primary effort was with the backing of India, China and Pakistan and Sri Lanka thwarted the UN effort at the Human Rights Council to inquire into the war crimes.

When the pressure was mounting on Sri Lanka with the revelation of authentic account of war crimes by its soldiers in the international media, the UN Secretary General had to find ways to deal with the situation. His efforts were determinedly thwarted by Sri Lanka with the help of China and some NAM countries. Ban appointed a panel of experts to advise him on accountability issues. This was too much for Mahinda Rajapakse and he told Ban that his move was "uncalled for and unwarranted", in a statement.

Knowing that Ban is planning to appoint an expert panel President Mahinda Rajapakse went on the preemptive strike by appointing his own Lesson Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in May 2010- a month ahead of the appointment of the UN panel and a year after the bloody massacre in the war front. He did everything to undermine the UN panel and Ban. Even the LLRC produced an interim report like the Prof Vitharane’s interim report of the APRC in order to weaken the UN effort.

LLRC made was not given a specific mandate on war crimes inquiry. It was cunningly designed to ridicule the opposition United National Party by dealing with the peace effort of the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe. There was no reference to victims of the war to come forward and give evidence before the commission, though during commission’s sittings the victims opted on their own to converge and present their cases. The LLRC mandate was not clear-cut like the Sansoni Commission inquiry following the 1977 anti-Tamil violence, when the victims were invited and they had unprecedented access to present their experience before the Commissioner.

In November 2010, the term of the LLRC was extended by six months. It is anticipated the final report will be submitted to the President in May 2011. Will the LLRC report face the same fate like the report of APRC will be known in just less than sixty days time?

Report of Ban’s panel is also due any time now, though it will be privy to the Secretary General. One needs to wait and see how Sri Lanka will outsmart the international community this time.

Modus operandi of Rajapakse

President Mahinda Rajapakse has appointed many investigative committees under pressure since he became the President. To this date, no one knows the outcome of the inquiries or whether the commissions had in fact carried out any investigations.

Having won the war whilst projecting a democratic image of governance by holding elections regularly, the government is embarked on the dictatorial governance of the country. The massive military employment bank is overstretched and it is progressively extending its influence in the civil society. Green brigade, Foreign Service brigade and local administration brigades are progressively taking control of the civil administration and the political leadership is unwilling and is unable to downsize the military to meet the current military needs of the country.

The Foreign Service is flooded with military men and some appointments to the UN and contact group counties are very controversial move by the government, whilst the accountability charges are not properly addressed two years since the war ended.

UN too remains exposed when the war crimes accused Major General Shavendra Silva is accepted as an emissary enjoying diplomatic immunity to deal with the Secretary General Ban.

The President knows time is on his side. So long as he could manipulate the issues and procrastinate the processes he expects the outcry on accountability issues will eventually die down.

There is enough at his disposal to play with. The Cricket World Cup effort, Commonwealth Games, war in Libya, economic development, LLRC maneuverings, etc., etc., are ever evolving situations for Sri Lanka.

Whether the international community will be bowled out to naught in the second pace of post war accountability game and on finding a political resolution to the conflict with the support of the Tamil National Alliance will be matters watched with much eagerness.